Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

I know what you're thinking: really, an Indian food recipe on an Italy expat blog? For real? But, here's something that you don't really learn until you become an expat: finding good ethnic food can be a real challenge. You take for granted in the U.S. having great Mexican, Indian and Chinese food within driving distance.

Anyway, Rob and I are Indian food addicts. Our love affair with Indian food started in Louisville after our friends Scott and Stephanie had us try a local restaurant's takeout. The restaurant, Kashmir, is still the best Indian food I've ever had. Those folks were legit. When we moved to the Philly area we found a decent replacement, but it's been harder here. It costs a bit more to eat out and we can't always find our favorites on the menu.

Here's something else you don't really learn until you become an expat: Indian spices are wicked inexpensive here. We never attempted to make it back in the states because there was no way I was paying $20 for a small bottle of garam masala. But big packets of curry, garam masala, cumin, cordiander here? 2 euros per, max. It's a little ridiculous. Suffice to say we have a spice arsenal in our pantry.

Everyone makes their Indian food a little differently, so the challenge for us was finding a decent base recipe and slowly adapting it to our tastes. One of the best things about making Indian food at home is knowing exactly what goes into it, since I have trouble with cheese, cream, milk, etc. So, without further ado, here's our recipe:

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients | Marinade + Chicken:
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon*
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
2-3 chicken breasts

Ingredients | Sauce/Gravy:
250g tomatoes
150-200g cream (we use 100% vegetable cream)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2tsp garam masala
1-2tsp chilli powder (depending how much spice we're in the mood for)
1/2tsp cumin
1tbsp butter

Directions:
First start with the chicken and marinade. Trim the chicken as needed and then chop into bite-sized pieces. Mix all of the spices together and then combine the spices and chicken in a bowl. Mix well. Some people like to add yogurt in to this mix (we used to), but we prefer the dry rub effect on the chicken this way. Cook the chicken until done.

Next, over medium heat, melt the butter and sautee the garlic. Right before it starts to brown add in spices and make a paste. Let cook for 30 seconds. Next, add in your can of tomatoes and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Then, add in the cooked chicken and cream. Taste your sauce as you add the cream. If you have an oops moment and discover that you made it too spicy, the cream is a great way to lessen the punch. Stir it all together and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve with rice, naan and any other deliciousness you whipped up (like our Channa Saag...recipe coming soon!)

Note: We don't actually have measuring spoons here. So, these are estimates based on what I think actually goes in. Spice wisely!

*The cinnamon here is truly more of a spice -- it doesn't have the sweet taste of the cinnamon you get back home. So, you may want to start with a little less.

Recipe: Simple Apple Tart

For the past few weeks I have been dying for an apple tart. Apples are in season and everywhere. Our local pastry/bread shop makes an amazing apple tart (Il Pane di Via Romana...a must-try for locals), but I really wanted to try and make one at home.

I visited one of my go-to resource for recipes, Smitten Kitchen, and was super excited to find an egg-free recipe for the Simplest Apple Tart. I hate baking and welcome any recipe that is simple. We sliced way too many apples and I was fully convinced that my dough basically sucked, so I didn't snap many photos -- I was convinced it would taste awful. But no, my friends, Smitten Kitchen always gets it right. This apple tart was delish and totally hit the spot. We ate half after dinner and half the next morning for breakfast. Mmmmm....

A modification and suggestions: we added cinnamon to the filling, which was amazing and spiced things up a bit. We don't own a rolling pin and, as such, had a bit of time getting the dough thin enough to have a workable surface area. If you're in the same boat as us, I'd suggest making more dough (and ending up with a slightly thicker crust) just so you have more surface area.

Click here to view the recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

recent delicious dishes we've cooked up

As I've mentioned before, when I was home in Philadelphia I picked up Giada's latest cookbook Giada at Home. We've made a handful of recipes from the book and loved them all. Most recently we made the Lemon Hazenut Tiramisu (heaven), but forgot to take photos...a travesty, I know.

We did however take photos of the pea pesto crostini (recipe also available here on FoodTV.com):

Additionally, we adapted Giada's Steak Involtini (recipe available at FoodTV.com) and made it with chicken instead. Just as yummy!

Apologies for the lack of posts lately, but it's been REALLY hot here. As such, we don't get out quite as much with the camera -- and since we know you all can only handle so many photos of Winston hanging out around the apartment, we're a little limited with material. Hopefully we'll get a few days in the 80's so that we can get out and snap some photos!

recipe: delicious feta + sun-dried tomato burgers

While I was home in Philadelphia I picked up a new cookbook, Giada at Home. Rob and I have cooked extensively from Giada's other books (as well as from her FoodTV.com recipes) and adore her. What I love about Giada's recipes is that you can follow them exact and they are delish or you can easily adapt them to create your own amazing dishes...which we did this evening.

In Giada at Home there is a turkey meatloaf recipe that looks fantastic -- but, it's way too hot here right now to turn the oven on. Our solution? Adapt the recipe and make hamburgers instead. Call it our early 4th of July cookout. The result? A tastey burger that seamlessly blends all flavors.

Note: I try to avoid eggs whenever possible, so I didn't use them as a binder in the recipe (I use olive oil instead). I think the burgers would hold together much better with egg and encourage you to use it if you'd like.

Delicious Feta + Sun-Dried Tomato Burgers

Ingredients:

• Approximately 1 lb. of ground beef
• 2/3 jar of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (Giada's sun-dried tomatos at Target are perfect!)
• 1/2 cup Feta cheese crumbles
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (we make our own from smashed bread and add in dried oregano and fresh basil; Italian style breadcrumbs from a U.S. grocery store will do the trick)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (can be replaced with 1 egg)
• Half a white onion, sliced thin
• 4 buns
• Salt, pepper to taste

Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, feta, bread crumbs, ground beef and about 2 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Next, make four hamburger patties.

Heat a pan on medium heat with about 1 tbsp of oil. Note, these are delicate burgers and won't do well on a grill. In the meantime, slice the onion and get those cooking in a separate pan, also on medium heat with a little olive oil. I sprinkled some leftover breadcrumbs on the onions to give them a bit of bite.

Cook the burgers until done to your preference. Be careful when flipping them, particularly if you've used olive oil and not eggs to bind. Place on bun and top with onions. Enjoy!

We served our burgers with Insalta Caprese -- featuring basil from our own garden!